Jaipur: Terming the hike in petrol prices
as a "cruel joke" with the `aam admi`, women activists of the
BJP Mahila Morcha Tuesday staged a protest here demanding
reversal of the raise.

The women, under the banner of the Morcha and led by
its state president Saroj Kumari, rode on a cycle rickshaw and
a cart around Badi Chaupad here as a symbol of protest,
briefly disrupting vehicular movement.

"It is a cruel joke with aam admi. The government has
cheated on public and the hike in petrol prices must be
withdrawn," Kumari said in her address to the women at the
dharna site.

Another office bearer of the Morcha, Suman Sharma said
that both the Union and the state government were "competing
with each other in raising inflation."

She said that Congress had promised to lift VAT on
fuel during the Assembly elections but has not done it so far.

Former BJP state president Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi
and former Mayor Sheel Dhabai, were among others present in
the protest.